Saturday, July 30, 2011

Following the awesomeness of my May and June Birchboxes, I guess it was just a matter of time until I got a box that I wasn't crazy about. While I have decidedly mixed feelings about my July box, there were (as you'll see in this review) more hits than misses.

Philosophy Purity Made Simple One-Step Facial Cleanser (full size [8 oz] $20): As I mentioned when I got my box, I had tried and liked this cleanser before. However, I'm glad that I had the chance to try it again, since I had forgotten how great it is. It is very gentle and non-drying, and it does a nice job with regular cleaning on any skin type. It also has a nice, mild scent, making it a good workhorse product to have. Although I haven't used Purity Made Simple in a while, I might go back to it in the fall/winter months.

Nuxe Huille Prodigieuse Multi-usage Dry Oil (full size [50 ml] $29.50): According to the info card that came with my box, this oil is supposed to give you a pretty glow without any slickness or greasiness. It certainly did do that, but I found myself not needing it all that often. This is something that might make sense in cooler weather, but in the summer, the last thing I want to do is to add an additional layer of anything (particularly oil) to my skin. That said, the oil worked well conditioning my cuticles and taming flyaways (use it sparingly!).

Redken Shine Flash 02 (full size [4.4 oz] $17): This product's claim to fame is adding shine to hair. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell any difference in my hair when I used it. I don't know if my hair was just too dark or was shiny enough without it, but this product is not on my "to buy" list.

Zoya Touch Collection Nail Polish in Pandora (full size [.5 fl oz] $8): I really like Zoya polishes, and I had been wanting a sophisticated nude polish (because wearing sparkly purple or blue when teaching is probably not a great idea). This is the perfect summer nude color, and it had pretty decent coverage too (it only took two coats for it to be opaque).